How We Relax and Unwind with the Kids

Between school, work, ballet, homework, reading logs, prepping meals, groceries, laundry, and everything else that pops up in our day to day, it’s hard to find time to relax! Ever since the kids were little, I have intentionally made some time at the end of our day to reconnect and unwind. The kids panic if we are running to close to bedtime and we don’t have time to snuggle on the couch.

It started as a way to save my own sanity. I needed those moments to take a deep breath, let the anxiety of the day slowly leave my brain and my body, and thank my lucky stars for getting to be the mom of these two sweet kids. Those days of having a toddler and a baby were exhausting, seemed never-ending, yet here we are with those same kids now in school.

We snuggle on the couch every night- sometimes it’s only for a few minutes and we chat about our day. Lately, we have been watching the Big Pacific documentary on Amazon Prime Video. The kids absolutely love it. On the weekends, our snuggle sessions turn into full blown movie nights (especially in the winter!) We like to do snacks– like SkinnyPop popcorn which comes in a variety of flavors to satisfy everyone in the family. They love to ask for creative snacks, too, which we sometimes brainstorm.

To be honest, I used to dread this time. The kids went through bedtime struggles when they were younger, and it just seemed to delay the inevitable. I even went so far as to tell Kenley before she went to Kindergarten, we couldn’t rock or snuggle every night. I had a change of heart when her sweet little voice asked if we could snuggle, and even Brayden loves this time with us in the evenings.

This time of reset really works for us- and it’s not always movies either! We read books together, talk about our days- it gives us the chance to reconnect after busy days. For me, it soothes any anxiety I may have about the day and lets me soak in these precious littles, while they still want to cuddle on my lap. I surely wont be telling them no anytime in the near future.